Monsoon goal for soccer league

Jamshedpur Sporting Association (JSA) football league, which was earlier slated to start from June 10, will now keep its date with monsoon instead of summer.

The JSA’s football committee postponed the eagerly awaited fixture to mid-June at a recent meeting at the JRD Tata Sports Complex.

“We decided to postpone the league by four-five days due to excessive heat. Matches will start from June 14-15 onwards,” JSA secretary Avinash Kumar said, adding that the decision to extend the date was taken with the concurrence of senior functionaries of all the 34 JSA-affiliated clubs.

Premier Division matches will be conducted at three separate venues — ISWP Sports Complex, Gopal Maidan and JRD Tata Sports Complex. “Since Keenan is not hosting Premier Division matches, we had to look at alternatives,” said Kumar, who is also the events manager with Tata Steel sports department.

Super Division encounters will also take place at Gopal Maidan.

JSA football committee chairman Ramesh Mehta said that the matches of Premier Division, Super Division and A Division will start from 4.30pm.

While 10 clubs each will participate in Premier and Super divisions, 24 will vie for top honours in A-Division.

“It will not be feasible to hold morning matches at JRD Tata Sports Complex since the timing will not suit players, most of whom are working,” he added.